But Birnie, who was recently demoted to a non-staff position at the museum, says that he is trying to remain upbeat about things: "I don't want to play sour grapes."

In an interview with Calendar, Birnie was in generally good spirits as he reflected on the uncertain fate of LACMA's film department. In July, the museum said it would be ending its 40-year-old weekend film program in the fall. In August, donors stepped in to give the series a stay of execution through June 2010.

But Birnie's position remains as precarious as ever. On Saturday, he officially assumed his new title as a "consulting curator" for the film department -- a non-staff contract position that carries little to no job security.